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Unique challenge posed by terrorists on social media

Targeting terrorist organizations like ISIS on social media is not as easy as it sounds, experts say.
- photo by Michael Bryant

Targeting terrorist organizations like ISIS on social media is not as easy as it sounds, experts say.

Both Facebook and Twitter are U.S.-based companies, which gives some users an expectation of free speech, according to Amy Iverson with The Browsers.

"How far does that go, and who gets to decide what is terrorism, what incites violence, and what doesn't?" Iverson asks.

Additionally, both companies rely on user policing, meaning users are expected to report violent, terroristic, or inappropriate content. And the sheer volume of content is a further barrier; Iverson says it's difficult to check all of the ISIS groups, pages, and handles because they all collectively post around 90 thousand times every day.

Iverson says there's also an argument for leaving terrorists' accounts alone, in order to better track their movements.

"We've seen that happen on Instagram, where they have tracked the location of some of these terrorists," Iverson says, "so there also could be a reason why we don't want their social media accounts completely eliminated because it can work in our benefit."

Iverson describes terrorists on social media as smart, savvy and well-educated - in some cases, educated in the United States.

And of course, Iverson says the ISIS social media experts are smart. They're all well-educated and some of them might have been educated in the United States.